AN: This will be as same as canon
3RD POV
The orcish army stormed across the forest, feet stamping against the soil; entire trees toppled along the way.
Destroy them! Destroy them! Destroy them! Destroy them!
Such was the thunderous chant of the orcs as they marched along, their yellow sparking with rage.
They were not capable of thought in the normal way. In their eyes, anything that moved was prey. They were eternally hungry, and the whole of their consciousness was devoid to filling their empty stomachs.
Whump
Another one down. Those surrounding him were overjoyed. They had prey now. At one point, they might have been friends—but now, he was just a slab of something edible. He looked like he was still breathing, but all that meant to the others was that his meat was fresh.
Those lucky enough to have been marching alongside him immediately took to taking the body apart. The liver was taken to the leader of their little group, with the rest snatched up on a first come, first served basis.
Crunch, rip, smack.
The air was quickly filled with the repulsive sounds of flesh and bone being torn apart.
They were forever hungry. And the hungrier they got, the more powerful they became in battle. That, right there, was the hidden benefit of the unique skill known as Ravenous. The more orcs that fell and were eaten---the hungrier the survivors grew--- the stronger it made the entire army.
They numbered 250,000, a city's worth of famished slaves under the orc lord's rule. There would be no salvation for them, as they worked feverishly to fill their stomachs...
It was all too futile an effort in this endless hellscape.
Now the homeland of the ogres was before them. The orcs were D-ranked monsters. The ogres, with a grade of B, made them cower in fear—never in their dreams would they dare challenge them to a fight. But look at them now...
Destroy them! Destroy them! Destroy them! Destroy them!
They never stopped. If anything, the hunt for prey made them go faster. Their comrades fell as the ogres raged, exercising the full brunt of their powers, slashing them apart, caving in their skulls with the handles of their axes...
But all it meant was that the orcs suddenly had a bountiful supply of fresh meat. They were thrilled, hoping against hope that it'd help stave off the hunger for at least one passing moment.
An ogre fell. Several orcs immediately pounced, bathing in his blood as they gnawed at his body. But... ahh, it didn't work. It filled nothing.
But now look. The orcs' bodies were changing. The power of the ogre was now within them. And now the ogres were swallowed up by the supposedly inferior orc hordes, screaming their last, pained at the seeming uselessness of their powers.
And slowly but surely, some among the orcs began to manifest new, unexpected abilities.
The strength of the companions I eat becomes my own!
The power of the prey I consume becomes my own!
The eating continued.None were afraid of death. Any sense of fear in their minds had been consumed right alongside the flesh of their comrades. And the power flowingwithin them was now making its way to the king. Their king. The orc lord,the one at the top of the food chain.
The march continued. Their next prey was right in front of them.
Lake Siss
The lizardman chief shuddered when he heard the report. The thing he fearedmost was now reality.According to the messenger, the stronghold of the powerful ogre race wasdestroyed before the day had even ended. As if swallowed whole by the orchorde.There was no longer any doubting it. The orc lord was here.
In terms of sheer statistics, these were still D-ranked orcs, two hundredthousand of them or not. Ten thousand C-plus-level lizardmen, playing ontheir home turf in the marshes, had every chance of fighting evenly, or better.But if the thing he feared the most---an orc lord---was on the scene, nothingabout them was D rank any longer.
If they had completely overwhelmed the ogres, that was an indicator oftheir power--- from the guy up top, all the way down to the lowliest peon inthe army. They may not be as powerful as ogres, no, but you could put a plussign next to that D, at the very least. And any orcs who were at knight levelor higher would be at least a C. Hell, at this point, they might be leaningtoward C-plus, matching the lizardmen's grade.
It would be hard enough to fend off such a massive army attempting tostrike them at their weakest link. But if there was no meaningful difference instrength at the infantry level now, they had no chance. The presence of theorc lord meant that holing up in the caverns and attempting to weather out asiege would be pointless. It was one thing if they had reinforcements, butshutting off all potential exits would simply make the lizardmen starve, notthe orcs.
Gabiru, sent away to gain the goblins' support, had yet to report back. Theycouldn't waste time searching for him---it would only make their foes evenmore of a threat. The chief began to fear that he would have to lead the forceshimself.
A soldier ran up, shouting.
Soldier: "Chief! We have an intruder! He wishes to meet with you in the limestonegrotto entrance!"
The chief's guards readied their spears in response.
Chief: "Calm yourselves,"
He could feel the presence of a strong aura nearby---more powerful thananything he had felt before---and he realized it wouldn't pay to do anythingto stoke its owner's anger. Any battle would lead to untold casualties, mostlikely, and he couldn't detect any hostility to the aura anyway.
Chief: "Whoever it is, he is very brave, coming here alone. I would like to see him. Bring him over."
Guard: "But what about the risk, my lord?"
Chief: "This aura is on the level of a magic-born's. If we wish to drive him away,we will have to pay dearly for it. He does not seem to be an immediate threat,so we have no reason to immediately threaten him."
Guard: "Shall we line the chamber area with our elite troops, then?"
Chief: "Please. But I want no one to move an inch until I give the order. Make that clear."
Guard: "Yes, my lord!"
The chief nodded to his royal guard and waited for the uninvited guest to appear. They were in a natural labyrinth, one with countless hidden nooks and crannies. If this magic-born-level foe attempted to cause any trouble, they would have ways of handling it--- if it came to the worst-case scenario, that is. The chief's hope was that they could talk this out instead.
Now the aura drew nearer, its size telling the chief everything he neededto know.
Chief: 'Anything foolish, and not even a hundred of my elite force may be enough to defeat him.'
After a few more moments, one of his men brought a single monster into his chamber. He was dark-skinned, his hair black with hints of blue, and eyes a lighter blue that were cold as ice. He was about as tall as your average lizardman--- not gigantic by monster standards, but he looked composed, impervious, ready for anything.
The power he seemed to exude was overwhelming in itself, even as he was surrounded by several lizardman warriors to keep him in check. A hundred other troops were stationed around the chamber, ready to leap at this visitor whenever their chief instructed.
The chief looked at the visitor, then resigned himself.
Chief: 'If this goes wrong, I may have just wasted the lives of everyone in this room.'
Suchwas the extent of this monster's aura, exponentially larger than anything heknew.
Chief: "My apologies. We have been so busy with our own preparations that I fear I cannot provide you with the proper courtesy you deserve. May I ask what brings you here?"
His choice of words angered the younger lizardmen in the chamber. Whatneed was there for all this politeness before a complete unknown like this?The chief appreciated their concern, but now he was anxious. If they didanything to displease this visitor, they may never step out of this chamberagain. The young warriors had far too little experience and lacked the abilityto accurately gauge their foes. They hadn't lived as long as the chief nordeveloped their danger-sensing skills like he had.
Souei: "My name is Souei. There is no need for excessive ceremony. I am merely a messenger."
Betraying the chief's worst fears, the monster serenely introduced himself.There was nothing savage about his demeanor as he regarded the chief, notcaring at all about the grumbling guards around him.
Chief: 'Soei, is it? A named monster. That would explain the overwhelming senseof power anyway. And this named monster was being employed by someoneelse.'
Souei: "Allow me to state my business. My master wishes to form an alliancewith you and has requested that I make the necessary arrangements. I feel wehave good news for you—my master cannot bring himself to simply watchidly as the orcs decimate your ranks. That is why he has requested thisalliance."
It was no nightmare scenario for the chief after all. This -master- didsound a tad uppity and forceful, yes, but some aspects of the offer deserved tobe heard. The chief thought---about this monster, Souei, and the goals of theone he served. Whoever he was, he was working against the orcs, at least.
Chief: "Before I respond to your proposal, may I ask you a question?"
Souei: "Let me hear it."
The reply was simple, but it confirmed to the chief that the other side waswilling to negotiate. It came as a relief.
Chief: "Well, then... If it is an alliance you seek, is it safe to assume that your master is willing to work alongside us as we confront the orcs?"
Souei: "Indeed. As I told you, he does not wish to see you annihilated. He wishes to fight alongside you, if possible."
Chief: "Then let me ask another question. What does your master think is theroot cause behind this orc activity?"
Soei fell silent for a moment. A bold smile began to cross his face.
Souei: "Areyou asking whether it is an orc lord we are dealing with? Then let me giveyou a piece of information I guarantee is the truth. My master, Rimuru-Sama,has received a request from the dryads, the wardens of the Forest of Jura, toslay the orc lord. He has solemnly promised to do the deed. I hope you willconsider that as you make your decision."
This reply offered even more for the chief than he expected. The revelation that dryads were involved caused everyone in the room to stir. And the man before him had just confirmed that the orc lord was very, very real. Whatever master this monster served--- did he have the power, truly, to defeat this menace?
Considering Souei had dropped the name of the dryads, one of the top-level presences in the forest, it seemed safe to assume he was telling the truth. Nobody was dumb enough to speak of dryads if doing so would spark their ire. It was said they could see all and hear all, through the very trees that populated the forest. All forest residents knew that their names must be handled with respect.
The term alliance suggested that the lizardmen would not be subjected to servitude. They would be treated as equals. It was an offer, the chief reasoned, that had to be taken. But before he could speak, another group of lizardmen bounded into the chamber.
Lizardmen1 "Chief! There is no need to listen to such talk!"
Lizardmen2: "Indeed! We are the proud lizardman race! Why does some total strangerthink he can simply stroll in and curry our favor?"
They were Gabiru's men, part of the group that stayed behind while their leader set off to secure the goblins support. The chief had bidden them tostay, fearing them too hotheaded to be useful in delicate negotiations with thegoblins, and now he was paying for that error.
He wished he could click his tongue and make them vanish. Certainly,there was no telling exactly how powerful this master and his people were.But simply dismissing them out of hand, over the authority of their chief?
This visitor was demanding a lot, it was true, but he was a messenger, andthese rank-and-file lizardmen had no right to treat him like garbage. Besides,the visitor's demands were not, in themselves, a problem. The envoyrepresented a monster powerful enough to be relied upon even by dryads.
In terms of level, he must have been equivalent to the lizardmen or higher. And in the world of monsters, it was all about survival of the fittest. Here was a higher-level presence seeking their help. Any perceived rudeness could be quickly forgiven. Even this envoy possessed a frightening amount of force, a magic-born through and through. Get on his wrong side, and he could easily become their enemy--- and taking on a magic-born like this before the orc horde arrived would be the epitome of foolishness.
Then the lizardmen body of opposing was froze. There were little threads around their limbs. The center of all threads was in Souei's hand. He lightly pulls the sting causing to tighten the threads around lizardmen. The threads were sharp. Hence resulting blood to come out of their scales. It penetrated them without any problems.
If Souei have pulled it with a little more force, then the lizardmen limbs will be cut. Sensing this Chief stood up from his throne.
Chief: "Hold. I apologize for my comrade's rudeness. Would you please forgive them. This offer does benefits both of us equally, does it not?"
Souei then left the string and free them.
Souei: "Forgive me. It was not my intent to threaten them, but I will not stand for such mockery of my master."
Chief: "I have a condition."
Souei: "Condition?"
Chief: "May I have an audience with your master."
Souei: "I will make necessary arrangement to our forces here in that time you will get to meet to Rimuru-Sama yourself then."
Chief: "Understood."
Souei: "Don't go offensive until we arrive. Stay on defense line. It will take at least 7 days to reach here."
Chief: "For seven days... It will be done."
Souei: "Then I will be off."
With that he turns back and headed towards the gate not until he looks back and warn.
Souei: "And also look at your back."
He then disappeared into the dark.
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AN: With this the chapter is finished. I hope you all like it. Tell me your honest opinion until then good bye.